Legend of Zelda: Warrior of Shadows
by perfect-imbecile
Summary: They were twins, similar but different. Both were born with great destinies, but where one is destined to save Hyrule, the other was doomed to live in his shadow.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A young boy breathed lightly as he lifted the weighted training sword and shield and once again attacked the wooden training dummy set up in his backyard. The child was only ten years old and he was already shaping up to be the one of the next great swordsman of Hyrule. Sliding into his starting stance, the first light of dawn just starting to show over the horizon, the boy took a deep breath before he began his onslaught.

He started with a traditional overhand strike, and followed with a side cut. The next attack was a backhanded strike that led to another overhand. The boy then used a thrust followed by an overhead backhand and finished with an immediate backhanded side cut. The boy backed up a few steps before he leapt high in the air and brought his training sword down on the dummy. There was a loud snap as the wooden training sword broke in half like a twig, while the dummy's arm was cleaved off.

"Not bad, boy." A gruff voice called. The child turned to see his grandfather Calvin, tall and proud as ever, walking over to him.

"Thank you Grandpa," the boy said with a proud smile. His grandfather raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm sorry, thank you sir."

The boy's grandfather glanced around the yard like he was looking for something. "Sevr where's your brother?" When Sevr didn't answer his grandfather grabbed him by his shoulders and stared straight his eyes. "Sevr, where is Link?"

At that moment another young boy came sprinting out of the house, pulling on a green tunic. Both Sevr and Calvin watched as Link tripped over himself trying to pull his boots on. By the time Link reached them Calvin was impatiently tapping his foot with his arms crossed while Sevr tried to hide his disgust at his brother's tardiness.

"Sorry I'm late." Link breathed, trying to catch his breath. He opened his mouth again but Calvin held up his hand.

"No excuses. Just grab your training gear and get ready. Sevr, grab a replacement sword."

"Yes sir." The twins replied simultaneously before running off. As Calvin watched them go, he praised the goddesses that Link had golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes while Sevr had ebony black hair and deep brown eyes, that in a certain light seemed to have a hue of red to them. If not for that he'd have to rely on the clothes the boys wore to tell them apart. Link favored green clothes where Sevr wore almost exclusively black. Then Calvin remembered something else that differentiated the two. On the back of Link's left hand was a birthmark in the shape of the sacred Triforce, while Sevr lacked such a mark.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Link asked Sevr as he searched for his training equipment.

Sevr scoffed as he leaned against the wall, his replacement sword resting on his shoulder, "I spent like five minutes trying to get your lazy butt out of bed. Maybe you should try going to bed on time instead of staying up all night doing Farore knows what."

"I told you, I was studying maps." Link yelled defensively, pulling his sword out from under a large pile of rubbish.

"A bunch crudely drawn, interlocking lines on a crumpled piece of paper isn't a map. It barely counts as a grid." countered Sevr with a roll of his eyes.

Link stuck his tongue out at his brother as he bent over to grab his shield. "They're not just lines, they're the only known maps of the dungeons and caverns through out Hyrule." Sevr scoffed as he and his brother made their way back to their grandfather.

"Why would you need to know anything about Hyrule's caverns?" Sevr asked.

Link puffed out his chest and stated boldly, "Because after I grow up I'm going to explore them all."

Sevr had to catch himself before he laughed loud enough to be heard from Lon Lon Ranch, "You better not tell Grandfather that. You know how dead set he is on both of us becoming knights."

Calvin was so set on the twins joining the Hylian Knights that he moved them from their house in Hyrule Castle Town to their summer home out in the country so they wouldn't be distracted by the hustle and bustle of city life. Their summer home was an acres worth of land located near the edge of Kokiri Forest. The home itself was a quaint little log cabin with five rooms total, a kitchen, a den that served as the living room and dining room, and two bedrooms, one for Calvin and another for Link and Sevr. Built around the cabin was a full obstacle that Calvin had the twins run at least once a week, and would rearrange every other week. There was also a dueling ring built so the twins could spar.

"I can still be a knight." Link stated, "I'll just be out exploring while you're stuck in the castle." The twins bickered the rest of the way, and then quickly silenced themselves once they were in earshot of Calvin. Their grandfather eyed them briefly before he gestured to the dueling ring.

"What is the duty of the Hylian Knights?" Calvin asked as the twins moved to the center of the ring.

Their response was automatic as they assumed their beginning stances, "To serve the Royal Family and safeguard the Kingdom of Hyrule."

Calvin nodded once at the boy's answer, "And how are you going to ensure that you give the Royal Family and Hyrule the best you're able to give?"

Both Link and Sevr smiled as they answered simultaneously, "Train hard to be the best."

"Then make it so." Calvin stated signaling the twins to begin. With broad smiles across their faces the twins began their favorite hobby… beating the hell out of each other.

That night both Link and Sevr went to bed with a couple of new bruises. Link's were mostly caused by Sevr taking advantage of his brother's lack of attention, and Sevr's bruises were the result of Link taking advantage of his impatience.

"Could you ease up on your swings Sevr?" Link asked tenderly nursing his bruised arm, "I think you almost broke my arm."

"I wouldn't have to ease up if you would pay attention." Sevr countered, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Now shut up and go to bed when you're supposed to for once."

Link stuck his tongue out at his brother before he sat at his desk and started his nightly routine of pouring over his dungeon maps. For the next few hours Link would keep Sevr awake with the constant shuffling of his maps. After being roused from his slumber for the third time Sevr finally shot out of his bed and thumped Link on the back of his head as hard as he could.

"What was that for?" Link whispered so he didn't wake Calvin up. Sevr glared furiously at Link, the faint candlelight giving his brown eyes a reddish hue.

"Oh now you're worried about being quiet!" Sevr hissed through his teeth while snatching the piece of paper Link was holding and waving it in front of his face. "You're keeping me up with all your stupid doodles!"

"I told you they're maps Sevr," Link argued, reaching for the piece Sevr had snatched. "Now give that back." But Sevr held on to the paper. Link stared curiously at Sevr as his brother seemed to be inspecting his map. "Something up?"

Sevr quickly shook his head and glanced at his brother. "No nothing." He said handing Link the map back, "Just try to keep it down please." Link watched confused as Sevr silently crawled back into his bed and fell asleep. Link looked back down at the map piece Sevr grabbed. It was one of the more detailed pieces, depicting a single large chamber filled with water. In the very center of the chamber was a small island with a dead withered tree. Shrugging it off Link placed the paper on the table and continued looking over his maps.

"Princess Zelda!" a young woman called as he sprinted through the halls of Hyrule Castle. The castle attendants quickly pressed themselves against the walls as a blur of silver hair rushed past them. The young woman raced through the many corridors of the castle, her lithe body nimbly moving around, over, or between obstacles with ease. "Princess Zelda where the heck are you?"

Meanwhile out in the castle garden, a young girl of about twelve quickly poked her out of some bushes, a mischievous smile on her small face. She quietly giggled as she retreated back into the bushes as the castle gardeners walked past, chatting about whatever it was gardener's talked about. Once they passed she poked her head out again, a couple of small branches tangled in her smooth blonde hair.

"Impa will never find me here." Zelda giggled as she started to pick the branches out of her hair.

"And why exactly would she need to find you?"

Shocked, Zelda spun around and found herself staring at a pair of armored knees. Her once mischievous smile was gone, replaced by a worried grimace. Slowly she looked up into the cold eyes of High General Braig, leader of the Hylian army.

"G-g-good morning, General Braig." Zelda stuttered nervously. "How are you feeling today?"

Braig opened his mouth to reply when Impa slid to a stop in front of him. "There you are Princess. I finally…"

"Impa!" Zelda shouted interrupting her guardian, "You found me! Now it's my turn to find you!" Zelda's sky blue eyes quickly darted back and forth from Impa to Braig, desperately trying to inform Impa of the general's presence. Impa stared confused at the princess until Braig loudly cleared his throat.

"Oh hello Braig." Impa blurted out, spinning on the balls of her feet. Nervously fidgeting with her medium length ponytail, Impa decided to play off of what Zelda had started. "Just playing some hide and seek with the Princess." Impa turned to Zelda, "Now you have to go into the library and count to one hundred, then try and find me."

"Okay Impa." Zelda stated crawling out of the bush and rushing out of the garden.

Once she was gone Impa turned back to Braig. The large High General's mere presence was intimidating. His broad frame was nothing but hard muscle, his velvet tunic looked ready to rip if he flexed his muscles for longer than half a second. His brown hair was cut military short. His chiseled face bore the scars of many battles, most prominent among them was a long, slender scar that ran from his right temple, under his eye, across the bridge of his nose and ended at the edge of his left cheek that he'd gained in the war with the Gerudo's years ago. In Impa's opinion the whole package made the man look like walking death.

Braig just glared at her, contempt plainly visible on his face. Impa was well aware of the fact that Braig held no love for her people the Sheikah. In his eyes they were shady, untrustworthy, and all around dishonorable. It didn't help that the King of Hyrule used them as his personal assassins.

"I should probably go hide before Zelda comes looking for me." Impa stated excusing herself. Braig watched her go before turning away and walked towards the throne room for his meeting with the King.

* * *

><p>Dark Link is given the name Sevr (Sev-er).<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

For the first time in months the area surrounding the cabin was silent. Calvin had to make a run to the nearby village to trade some of the crops they grew for some tools and other items. Feeling generous he let Sevr and Link have the day off from training. For probably the fourth time in his life Sevr was sleeping in late instead of drilling himself outside.

Ironically enough, Link had chosen this day to wake up early instead of staying in bed as usual. The young boy had dressed himself in his green tunic and shorts, donned his green cap, and pulled on his brown soft leather boots before he walked over to his collection of maps. He took a moment to look through them before he grabbed the ones to a dungeon that was rumored to be inside the Kokiri Forest nearby and stuffed them into a leather pouch. After securing the pouch to his belt Link looked over at his sleeping brother. For a few moments Link entertained the thought of waking him up and bringing him along, but he quickly banished the idea.

_He'd be no fun at all out there. _Link decided as he carefully crept out the door. Once outside the house Link took a moment to appreciate the cool morning air and the rising sun, painting the sky a beautiful myriad of color. Link started to understand why Sevr was always up so early. Link always figured it was because he trying to kiss up to Calvin, but now he was beginning to believe his brother just enjoyed watching the morning sunrise.

After watching the sun fully rise into the sky, Link quickly went to the shed and grabbed his training sword and shield. Once he had his stuff in hand he paused once more to consider bringing Sevr once more. After all now that he thought about it, Sevr often did talk about going out into the Kokiri Forest to test his survival training and to test his combat skills against the monsters rumored to live in the forest. But once again Link decided against it, this time though it wasn't because he thought Sevr would spoil his fun. Sevr worked hard, much harder than Link and these days when Calvin was away are the only time Sevr takes to relax and think about something other than training. And Link didn't want to take away Sevr's only vacation day in months.

His mind firmly made up, Link hoisted his shield and sword and entered the Kokiri Forest, unaware of the eyes watching him.

Zelda fidgeted impatiently in her chair as Braig rambled on and on about foreign diplomatic crap to her father, King Tobias and mother, Queen Eleanor. She had stopped listening to the High General's report about two minutes in. She tried to cast a casual glance towards Impa, who was hovering to her left as usual. The young Sheikah was perfectly composed as her scarlet eyes darted from one section of the throne room to another, searching for any sign of danger.

Zelda almost wished that an assassin or something would break in and attack, if for no other reason than to end Braig's long winded, boring speech. _Ugh, this is such a waste of time. Why do I have to be here? Nayru I hate this. I'd rather be stuck with my tutors._

"Would that be satisfactory Princess Zelda?" The King's voice intruded her thoughts, snapping her attention back to reality. Zelda looked to her father, who was staring at her with a curious glance.

Zelda blinked once or twice, trying to regain her composure, "I'm sorry Father, my mind was else where."

Tobias smiled at his princess, "That's quite alright my dear, Braig was just suggesting that we hold an open tournament and that the winner earns the honor of spending a day with the Royal Family."

Zelda faked a smile, "That sounds like a wonderful idea General." At least that's what she told everyone present. _Now I'm going to be forced to spend the day with a peasant._

"Wonderful, we could send invitations to Termina and Ikana as well." The King stated jovially.

"We must not forget the Gerudo's my dear." The Queen added, with her soft, gentle voice.

"Your majesty, may I have a word with you in private?" Braig asked, gesturing to Zelda and Impa.

The King glanced at Zelda and her care taker before nodding, "Zelda, return to your studies."

"Yes Father." Zelda replied obediently, before she gracefully rose from her seat and made her exit, Impa exactly three steps behind her. As she left the throne room Zelda caught a glance at Braig and was slightly amused at his expression. The High General was clearly annoyed with the parent's decision to invite other kingdoms to the tournament. Even so her slight amusement was vastly over shadowed by her annoyance. Yet she maintained her composure all the way to her room, where upon entering she let out a frustrated yell. "I can't believe it! I can't believe I'm gonna be forced to spend a day with a filthy peasant!"

"Then why didn't you tell your father that you didn't like the idea?" Impa asked, praising the goddess' that the walls were thick.

Zelda shot Impa a curious glance, "I never realized you were that stupid Impa. I have to agree with anything that General Braig comes up, otherwise my parents just think I'm being difficult and do it anyway. Especially if it involves spending time with common folk."

"Forgive me princess." Impa apologized with a bow. "But let's be realistic, the odds of a peasant beating one of the knights are very low. Plus there's whoever decides to come from Termina, Ikana, and Gerudo Valley."

"Ugh, I think I'd rather spend the day with a peasant than one of the knights or a foreign warrior." Zelda groaned, causing Impa to grow slightly annoyed with the Princess' whining. "The knight's are only going to be kissing up so Daddy will like them better. And any foreign guy is just going to be there for political crap. At least peasants are supposed to behave like idiots around us. No matter what happens I lose… unless."

"Unless what?" Impa asked, not liking the mischievous look in her eyes.

"Unless you enter the tournament and win." Zelda answered, casually taking a seat.

"Now Braig, what did you wish to speak with me about?" the King asked as soon as Zelda had left the room. The High General glanced uncomfortably at the Queen, a gesture that was not lost on her.

"I was hoping to speak with you alone sir." Braig requested.

"Braig, whatever you have to say to my husband can be said in front of me." Queen Eleanor said, her casual soft voice replaced by that of a stern ruler. "Now speak freely."

Braig sighed, "I'm uncomfortable with inviting other kingdoms to this tournament. Especially the Gerudos."

"Why do you feel this way Braig?" the King asked, "We've had great relations with both Termina and Ikana for years and we've been rebuilding our relations with the Gerudo since the last war."

"Nations change your majesty, peace doesn't last forever." Braig argued, "Kingdoms get new ambitions. And I'm afraid that someone my use this opportunity to bring their best warriors here to strike at the heart of our kingdom."

"I doubt any one would be foolish enough to attempt an attack when they're surrounded by the best fighters in Hyrule."

"But what if a Terminian, Ikanian, or Gerudo win the tournament? They'll have the easiest shot at you of their lives."

"That's why you'll be there to protect us Braig." The Queen responded. "After all, your loyalty is unquestionable and no one has ever been able to get past you."

"And in the unlikely event that a threat is lucky enough to get past you we still have our Sheikah guards." Tobias stated, snapping his fingers. Braig glanced around as several lithe figured men and women emerged from the shadows, hands wrapped around the hilts of their wakizashi, ready to be used at a moment notice. "So you see Braig, there's really no need to worry." Believing his point to be made, King Tobias waved his hand and the Sheikah melted back into the shadows. "Have I put your discomfort to rest?"

Braig was still skeptical. The King and Queen had never been in a real battle, so they had no idea how just a single well-trained man or woman could sometimes slaughter dozens of enemies just to reach one target. The high general knew better than to try arguing with Tobias and Eleanor, once the King and Queen got their heads wrapped in an idea there was no talking them out of it. He would have to find a way to ensure that the Royal Family wouldn't be endangered. "Yes your majesty." Braig lied with a bow. "They've been put to rest."

The sounds of the forest swept over Link as the young boy wandered through the woods. The sunshine gently penetrated the canopy of the forest, giving just enough light for Link to see. As the young boy took careful steps through the tall grass, a faint rustling sound reached Link's ears. Link's hand tightened around the soft leather hilt of his training sword and he positioned his wooden shield in front of him.

Cautiously the boy looked around him for the source of the sound. A shivering shrub caught his eye. Slowly Link approached the shrub, his heart racing, palms growing sweaty, and breath becoming shallow as he pulled his training sword back, ready to attack whatever came from the shrub. When the shrub ceased shivering, Link panicked, thinking that whatever was inside just poised it self to attack, and swung as hard as he could at the bush.

The wooden blade smashed through the bush and disturbed a nest of birds. Link smirked as the birds flew deeper into the forest. "This place is making me too jumpy." Link teased himself, "Just gotta relax. Nothing's gonna happen."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Link was tackled to the ground. Link's shield and sword fell from his hands as he and his attacker rolled on the ground. Finally the two ceased rolling on the ground with the assailant on top. Link cried out as the creature dug its claws into his shoulders. Link felt the creatures hot breath on his face as it pulled back to clamp its jaws around his throat. Link took this opportunity to plant his feet on the creature's underbelly and kicked up as hard as he could. Whatever was on top of him was flung off, giving Link time to retrieve his equipment. Sword and shield in hand Link turned to face his enemy, a wolfos.

The beast slowly circled Link, never taking its glowing, pale, yellow eyes off of him. The beast's shaggy gray fur rustled in the wind as the wolf like creature rushed towards Link swinging its claws wildly. Link stepped back to avoid being scratched and quickly countered with one of the combos his grandfather taught him. The combo ended with a forward thrust to the wolfos' chest, forcing the beast to make a retreat before it circled around Link again. The wolfos dropped to all fours, muscles tensing, before it leapt at Link, growling viciously. Link spun to the side, allowing the beast to soar safely past while he held his sword out, and caught the wolfos on its spine with a powerful spinning back handed slash.

The beast howled with pain before it landed in a heap. Link breathed heavily as he cautiously approached the downed creature.

The beast remained motionless, even as Link gently poked at it with the tip of his wooden sword. With a sigh of relief Link turned to continue deeper into the forest, and found himself surrounded by a whole pack of wolfos. Link raised his shield and sword as the pack slowly closed in on Link. A large brown furred wolfos broke off from the rest of the pack leapt at Link, howling loudly in an attempt to paralyze Link to the spot.

The Wolfos' howl turned into a shriek of pain as an arrow appeared seemingly out of nowhere and embedded itself into the base beasts' skull. Link and the other wolfos stared confused at the fallen creature before the boy realized this was his chance. Link spun around and started sprinting towards the forest's edge, the wolfos giving pursuit not far behind him. Fortunately Link seemed to have a guardian angel because whenever one of the wolfos closed in on him another arrow would fly in from the trees and bury itself into the beast. By the time Link reached the edge of the forest only four wolfos remained. Free from the overhanging trees the beasts were safe from the mysterious archers that had essentially destroyed the rest of the pack. The wolfos over took Link and surrounded him once again.

Link swallowed hard as the wolfos closed in, drool dribbling from their snarling maws. Gripping his sword and shield tightly, Link readied himself for the first wolfos to attack.

"Close your eyes Link!" Out of the corner of his eye Link saw a deku nut and immediately clamped his eyes shut as the nut landed on the ground and exploded in a flash. When Link opened his eyes the four wolfos were stunned by flash and Sevr was standing next to him, his own sword and shield in hand. "Having fun brother?"

"Until you showed up." Link responded, "So how was your sleep?"

"Fine. That is until you and your new pets woke me up." Sevr glanced at the three wolfos who were beginning to recover and whistled, "So you take two and I take the other two?"

"Sounds like a plan." Link and Sevr smiled as they rushed forward.


End file.
